Tag Archives: Dryer tips

Your Clothes Dryer Does More than Just Dry Clothes

Your clothes dryer is good for much more than just drying clothes. Employing your dryer to its fullest capabilities means that you can use it to remove static and wrinkles, warm your towels inClothes Dryer cold weather and freshen the smell of your laundry. Following is all you ever need (or want) to know about your trusty clothes dryer.

How it Works

The key to drying clothes is evaporation, the process of turning the water into vapor, and then removing that vapor. A normal load of wet laundry contains nearly 5 pounds of water, and it’s up to your dryer to get rid of it.

The heart of this sturdy machine is a large metal drum with paddles around its rim. Cold air is drawn into the machine through an intake. Once the air makes it inside, a fan pulls it toward a heating element. As cool air passes over the heating element, it’s converted into hot, dry air. The drum rotates and tumbles the wet laundry around as the hot air circulates. Once the air cools and absorbs moisture, it’s pushed out first through the lint filter and then through a vent hose that leads outside of your home. Voila! Dry clothes!

Remove Static Electricity

Removing the items from your dryer can be a shocking experience ― literally! You can conquer static electricity a few different ways, however, and even use your dryer to remove the static from your clothes before putting them on in the morning.

Perhaps the most popular approach is to use dryer sheets, but you probably have some alternative solutions just sitting around in your home. For example, ball up some aluminum foil and toss it in with your clothes. Or you can add a quarter-cup of vinegar to the fabric softener dispenser in your washing machine. This will help solve your static situation! Plus, both vinegar and dryer sheets leave your clothes smelling fresh. Or, try some of the new, reusable dryer balls.

Unwrinkle Your Clothes

Sure, you could always iron or steam your clothes, but it’s a lot easier to mist your wrinkled items with some water and toss them into the dryer for a few minutes. This will steam the wrinkles right out of those clothes while you continue getting ready. As a bonus, at least during the colder months, your clothes will be toasty warm when you put them on. Some newer models have a steam feature built in, eliminating the need for spritzing. These models freshen the smell of clothing as well as remove wrinkles.

Warm Your Towels and Bedding

Sometimes it’s nice to have a little extra luxury, especially in the long, cold winter months. If you’re looking for a little pick-me-up, throw your towels in the machine for a few minutes before getting in the shower. That way, you can envelop yourself in fluffy and warm goodness. You can even throw in your robe for an extra bit of warmth. Tuck your little ones into a toasty warm bed by tumbling their blankets for a few minutes while they brush their teeth.

If you’re in the Salt Lake City area, call the experts at Complete Appliance Repair for all of your appliance needs. Providing sales, service, maintenance and repair, the experienced professionals at Complete Appliance will keep all of your appliances in tip-top shape and ready to do their jobs. Contact them today for service and repair for your clothes dryer or any other appliance.

Dryer Sheets versus Balls

It seems everyone is debating the merits of dryer sheets versus dryer balls. Appliance-repair experts aren’t too keen on liquid fabric softener used in the wash cycle, so these are the Dryerremaining logical choices for softening your laundry. The keys to the debate, however, are the other benefits that come from these fabric softener choices. Read on for a quick comparison of fabric-softener sheets and dryer balls and decide for yourself.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Dryer Sheets

The most persuasive powers of commercial dryer sheets are their ability to reduce or eliminate static electricity in your clothes and to leave a pleasant, fresh scent. They do a great job of softening clothes and linens of course, but that’s a given. They are easy to use and they are multitaskers, doing duty as dusters, bug repellants, shoe fresheners, garbage-can deodorizers and as a way to keep thread tangle-free. Disadvantages include their disposable nature and use of chemicals, making them less than environmentally friendly. They can also be a bit pricier than their longer-lasting competitors.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Dryer Balls

Dryer balls are made of all types of materials. Rubber balls with nubbins, wool balls and even balls made of aluminum foil are popular. Some consumers use regular tennis or racquet balls in the dryer. What these strange little tools do exceptionally well is soften and fluff your laundry. They last a long time, so they are cost-effective while not adding to the landfill. They don’t typically emit toxic chemicals and they won’t slow down the drying process by coating your clothes. Consumers report, however, that dryer balls are largely ineffective at fighting static electricity and they don’t leave behind a fresh scent.

How to Make Your Own

The Internet is rife with DIY suggestions for making your own dryer balls. Some users have had good luck making foil balls, claiming that these actually combat static cling. But others report the foil snags delicate clothing. One blogger swears by using tennis and foil balls together, reporting that the foil spheres soften with use, eliminating the risk of snags. However, they also lose their ability to reduce static with use as well. Try adding a drop or two of essential oil (lavender, jasmine and lemon are user favorites) to a handkerchief and adding it to the dryer for a fresh and lovely scent.

No matter what type of fabric softener you use, you’ll never get good laundry results if your washer and dryer aren’t in tip-top shape. Well-maintained laundry machines improve your results significantly and save you money on energy bills. Contact Complete Appliance Repair, serving Salt Lake City and the surrounding communities, for all your appliance repair and service needs. They may not help with the dryer-sheets-versus-dryer-balls debate, but they’ll keep your home appliances going strong.

Tips For More Efficient Clothes Drying

The obvious benefit of more efficient clothes drying is the cost savings, but there are other advantages as well. Minimizing the time you run your dryer will extend the life of both your Tips For More Efficient Clothes Dryingclothing and of the appliance itself. Effective clothes-washing products and techniques will help improve your drying results too, as will taking a few simple precautions. Read on for tips and tricks for better laundry results.

Good Drying Starts with Good Washing

Many common drying problems actually start in the washing machine. Laundry detergent’s major strength is to help break down skin oils and other greasy substances in and on fabrics; however detergent does less for cleaning clothes than water and agitation cycles do. Most people overuse laundry soap, making it difficult to rinse it out. Insufficient rinsing leads to clothes that take longer to dry and that attract dirt more when dry.

For today’s high-efficiency (HE) washing machines, HE detergent is required because it is easier to rinse away. Cut the amount of detergent you use by half for best results, or try pod-type or HE soap (even if your machine is not rated for it). If you have a particularly dirty load and feel the need to use more soap, run the load through a secondary rinse cycle. Choose a detergent formula without fabric softener or scent, both of which are harder to rinse out.

Ways You May Be Drying Clothes Incorrectly

Although it may seem like a fairly intuitive process, there are right ways and wrong ways to dry clothes. Even if your laundry machines are rated for large capacity, it’s usually more efficient (in time and cost) to run smaller loads. Small loads get cleaner in the washer and dry more quickly. Launder fabrics based not only on color groups but also on thickness. Heavy fabrics will prevent lighter ones from getting as clean or drying as quickly as they would otherwise. Once you’ve run a dryer load, the machine will have a build-up of heat. Run multiple loads one after the other to take advantage of this.

Be obsessive about cleaning your lint filters and keeping obstructions away from your dryer vent outlet. Lint build-up and vent obstructions drastically reduce the machine’s ability to do its job, and also increase the odds of a fire. Finally, experts believe that most consumers over-dry their clothing and household linens. Try an abbreviated cycle and you may be surprised to find your items are dry much sooner than you expect.

When the Problem is Equipment Rather than Technique

If you’re doing everything right but still experiencing disappointing results, the problem may be the equipment rather than the technique. Old equipment uses more energy to operate and does a much less effective job than modern, high-efficiency models. If your home has gas service, today’s gas dryers are highly cost effective and as kind to your clothes as electric dryers. If a new machine isn’t in the budget this year, you can greatly improve the efficiency of your existing dryer by having a professional maintenance service performed.

A technician can remove built-up lint from the internal exhaust system, calibrate the thermostat and timer, replace seals and maintain other critical components. Best of all, regular dryer maintenance will catch most major problems before they become critical. In the Salt Lake City area, Complete Appliance Repair is your expert in dryer service, repair and replacement. Call today and ask Complete Appliance Repair for their professional advice on more efficient clothes-drying techniques.